1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a half-fitting prevention connector-assembling method and a half-fitting prevention connector, in which when a pair of male and female connector housings are fitted together, a half-fitted condition of the male and female connector housings is detected by determining whether or not a fitting detection member, mounted on one of the first and second connector housings, can be slid into a proper fitting detection position.
The present application is based on Japanese Patent Applications No. 2001-114405 and No. 2001-269062, which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Related Art
In a conventional half-fitting prevention connector shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, when a pair of male and female connector housings 1 and 9 are fitted together, a half-fitted condition of the male and female connector housings 1 and 9 is detected by determining whether or not a fitting detection member 2, mounted on the male connector housing (first connector housing) 9, can be slid into a proper fitting detection position (see JP-A-8-31517).
As shown in FIG. 19, the male connector housing 1 has a flexible lock arm 4 rising from an upper wall 3 at a front end thereof and further extending toward a rear end of the housing, and a lock portion 6 is formed on an intermediate portion of an upper surface of this flexible lock arm 4 in a projected manner.
A pressing plate portion 7 is provided at a free end of the flexible lock arm 4 disposed near to the rear end of the male connector housing 1, and this pressing plate portion 7 serves as an operating portion for elastically displacing the flexible lock arm 4 when fitting the male and female connector housings together.
The female connector housing 9 has an engagement portion 10 formed on an inner surface of an upper wall thereof at a front end thereof which upper wall overlies the flexible lock arm 4 when fitting the male and female connector housings 1 and 9 together.
As shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, when the fitting length of the male and female connector housings 1 and 9 relative to each other reaches a proper value, the engagement portion 10 slides over the lock portion 6 through the elastic displacement of the flexible lock arm 4. When the fitting length of the male and female connector housings 1 and 9 reaches the proper value, the engagement portion 10 becomes engaged in a recess 6a, disposed at the rear side of the lock portion 6, from the upper side, to retain the lock portion 6, thereby locking the male and female connector housings 1 and 9 in a fitted condition.
As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, the fitting detection member 2 includes an operating plate portion 16, which is slidably engaged with the pressing plate portion 7 so as to slide in a fitting direction of the male and female connector housings, a resilient piece portion 17, extending from a rear end of the operating plate portion 16 toward the front ends of the male and female connector housings, and a positioning retaining portion 20 formed at a distal end of the resilient piece portion 17 in a projected manner, these portions being formed integrally with one another. The resilient piece portion 17 has a bar-like shape, and can pass through a space between a pair of side plate portions 5 of the flexible lock arm 4.
As shown in FIG. 18, the positioning retaining portion 20 is in the form of a projection, and can be fitted into each of recesses 6a and 6b, disposed respectively at the rear and front sides of the lock portion 6, from the lower side by the resilient force of the resilient piece portion 17. Before the male and female connector housings are fitted together, this positioning retaining portion 20 is kept fitted in the recess 6a at the rear side of the lock portion 6, and is retained by a rear edge of the lock portion 6, and therefore is prevented form forward movement.
The position where the positioning retaining portion 20 is abutted against the rear edge of the lock portion 6, and is prevented from forward movement is an initial position of the fitting detection member 2 mounted on the male connector housing 1.
With respect to the sliding engagement between the pressing plate portion 7 and the operating plate portion 16, the sliding range is so determined that the fitting detection member 2 can slide between the proper fitting detection position, set forwardly of the above initial position, and this initial position.
When the pair of male and female connector housings 1 and 9 are fitted together, the fitting length of the male and female connector housings 1 and 9 reaches the proper value, so that the engagement portion 10 is fitted in the recess 6a at the rear side of the lock portion 6, as shown in FIG. 21.
Therefore, the positioning retaining portion 20 of the fitting detection member 2, already fitted in the recess 6a, is downwardly pushed out of this recess by the engagement portion 10, so that the holding of the positioning retaining portion 20 in the initial position is canceled. As a result, the fitting detection member 2 can be slid by pushing the operating plate portion 16 forward as indicated by arrow A in the drawings.
When the fitting detection member 2 is pushed forward after the holding of the positioning retaining portion 20 in the initial position is canceled, this positioning retaining portion 20 moves forward in sliding contact with the lower surfaces of the engagement portion 10 and lock portion 6, as shown in FIG. 22. Then, when the positioning retaining portion 20 moves past the front edge of the lock portion 6, this portion 20 is displaced upwardly by the resilient force of the resilient piece portion 17, and is fitted into the recess 6b at the front side of the lock portion 6.
Therefore, the positioning retaining portion 20, thus fitted in the recess 6b, is retained at its rear end surface by the front end surface of the lock portion 6, and is held in a locked condition, that is, prevented from rearward sliding movement.
However, if the fitting length of the male and female connector housings 1 and 9 does not reach the proper value, thus inviting a half-fitted condition, when the male and female connector housings 1 and 9 are fitted together, the engagement portion 10 of the female connector housing 9 will not be fitted into the recess 6a at the rear side of the lock portion 6.
Therefore, the positioning retaining portion 20 will not be pushed out of the recess 6a by the engagement portion 10, and therefore the holding of the fitting detection member 2 in the initial position by the lock portion 6 will not be canceled.
Therefore, in the half-fitted condition of the male and female connector housings 1 and 9, even when the operating plate portion 16 is pushed forward, the fitting detection member 2 will not be moved forward, and therefore the half-fitted condition can be detected by determining whether or not the fitting detection member 2 can be moved forward.
In the operation for fitting the pair of male and female connector housings 1 and 9 together, the connector housings 1 and 9 are directly held with the fingers of the hands, and then the two connector housings 1 and 9 are fitted together.
In the operation for moving the detection member in order to judge the fitted condition of the two connector housings 1 and 9, the fingers of the hand, holding the male connector housing 1, are shifted into positions where the operating plate portion 16 of the fitting detection member 2 can be pushed by these fingers, and then the fitting detection member 2 is moved from the initial position to the proper fitting detection position.
Further, a housing-pulling confirmation operation is effected in order to confirm whether or not the locked condition of the male and female connector housings is incomplete because of damage to the lock portion 6 or others even if the fitting detection member 2 can be properly moved into the proper fitting detection position. In this operation, the two housings are held with the fingers of the right and left hands, and are pulled away from each other in order to confirm the locked condition of the male and female connector housings.
Thus, the above three independent operations must be sequentially carried out, which has invited a problem that the number of the operations is large.
And besides, each time the operation is shifted to the next operation, the fingers, holding the side surfaces of the male connector housing 1, need to be shifted onto the operating plate portion 16 of the fitting detection member 2, or the fingers, holding the fitting detection member 2, need to be shifted to the side surfaces of the male connector housing 1, and therefore there has been encountered a problem that the efficiency of the operation is lowered since the positions of the fingers are changed.
Furthermore, the fitting detection member 2 is a relatively-small component part fitted on the flexible lock arm 4 on the male connector housing 1, and the male connector housing 1 and the fitting detection member 2 are formed of resin materials having substantially the same color, and therefore when the fitting detection member is mounted on the male connector housing 1, it is rather inconspicuous. Therefore, there has been encountered a problem that for example, at the time of the maintenance and inspection, it is not easy to confirm whether the fitting detection member is disposed in the initial position or in the proper fitting detection position.
This invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the invention is to provide a half-fitting prevention connector, as well as a half-fitting prevention connector-assembling method, in which when fitting two connector housings together, a housing-fitting operation and a detection member-moving operation can be completed at the same time with one operation, so that the number of the operations, required for connecting the two connector housings together, can be reduced.
Another object is to provide a half-fitting prevention connector, as well as a half-fitting prevention connector-assembling method, in which when the operation is to be shifted to the next operation, there is no need to change the positions of the fingers, holding the housing, and the next operation can be carried out efficiently, and the efficiency of the operation for connecting the two connector housings together can be enhanced.
A further object is to provide a half-fitting prevention connector in which for example, at the time of the maintenance and inspection, it can be easily confirmed with the eyes whether a fitting detection member is disposed in an initial position or in a proper fitting detection position.
(1) According to the invention, there is provided a method of assembling a half-fitting prevention connector, the connector including a first connector housing having a flexible lock arm formed on an upper surface of a housing body; a second connector housing having an engagement portion engagable with a lock portion of the flexible lock arm and connected to the first connector housing by the engagement of the lock portion with the engagement portion when the second connector housing is fitted relative to the first connector housing; and a fitting detection member having a positioning retaining portion for engagement with the lock portion and slidably mounted on the first connector housing in a fitting direction of the first and second connector housings, wherein a half-fitted condition of the first and second connector housings is detected by determining whether or not the fitting detection member can be slidingly moved;
the method of assembling comprising the steps of:
holding the fitting detecting member at an initial position by engagement of the lock portion with the positioning retaining portion and fitting of the fitting detection member on an outer periphery of the first connector housing before the first and second connector housings are fitted together;
pushing the fitting detection member mounted on the first connector housing toward a front side of the first connector housing in the fitting direction in an operation for fitting the first and second connector housings together;
completely fitting the first and second connector housings by engaging the engagement portion of the second connector housing with the lock portion of the flexible lock arm;
pushing the positioning retaining portion out of the lock portion, thereby canceling holding of the fitting detection member in the initial position relative to the first connector housing;
sliding the fitting detection member from the initial position to a proper fitting detection position which is nearer to a front end of the first connector housing than the initial position; and
holding the fitting detection member in the proper fitting detection position by a retaining device for holding the fitting detection member in the proper fitting detection position, thereby detecting a completely-fitted condition of the first and second connector housings.
In this half-fitting prevention connector-assembling method, by pushing the fitting detection member, mounted on the first connector housing, forward in the fitting direction, the two connector housings are completely fitted together, and also the fitting detection member is slid into the proper fitting detection position, and is held in this position. Therefore, the operation for fitting the two connector housings together and the detection member-moving operation can be completed by one pushing operation.
(2) The above objects have been achieved by a half-fitting prevention connector comprising:
a first connector housing having a flexible lock arm formed on an upper surface of a housing body thereof;
a second connector housing having an engagement portion engagable with a lock portion of the flexible lock arm to thereby be connected to the first connector housing when the second connector housing is fitted relative to the first connector housing; and
a fitting detection member mounted on the first connector housing so as to slide in a fitting direction of the first and second connector housings for detecting a half-fitted condition of the first and second connector housings by determining whether or not the fitting detection member can be slidingly moved,
the fitting detection member including a detection member body of a substantially tubular shape fitted on an outer periphery of the first connector housing so as to slide in the fitting direction of the first and second connector housings and a positioning retaining portion for engagement with the lock portion to hold the detection member body in an initial position;
wherein the detection member body is held in the initial position by the engagement of the lock portion with the positioning retaining portion before the first and second connector housings are fitted together;
the positioning retaining portion is pushed out of the lock portion upon engagement of the engagement portion with the lock portion, so that the engagement of the positioning retaining portion with the lock portion is canceled, when the first and second connector housings are completely fitted together;
the detection member body is slid from the initial position to a proper fitting detection position near to a front end of the first connector housing; and
the fitting detection member is held in the proper fitting detection position by a retaining device for retaining the first connector housing and the fitting detection member to each other.
In the half-fitting prevention connector of the above construction, the fitting detection member, mounted on the first connector housing, before fitted relative to the second connector housing, is held and retained in the initial position by the lock portion, and substantially covers the outer periphery of the first connector housing. Therefore, when effecting the operation for fitting the pair of female and male connector housings together, this fitting operation can be carried out, with the fitting detection member kept held with the fingers.
After the housing-fitting operation is finished, the detection member-moving operation for moving the fitting detection member from the initial position to the proper fitting detection position is effected in order to detect the fitted condition of the female and male connector housings. At this time, if the fitting detection member is held with the fingers at the time of the housing-fitting operation, the fitting detection member can be moved in the next detection member-moving operation merely by pushing the fitting detection member toward the front side of the housing, without the need for changing the positions of the fingers.
Namely, the detection member-moving operation is an operation for moving the fitting detection member toward the front side of the housing, and the pushing direction in this operation is the same as that in the housing-fitting operation, and therefore by one pushing operation for effecting the housing-fitting operation, the operation, including the detection member-moving operation, can be completed at a time.
When the fitting detection member reaches the proper fitting detection position, the sliding movement of the fitting detection member is limited by the retaining device which retains the first connector housing and the fitting detection member relative to each other.
Therefore, in a housing-pulling confirmation operation for pulling the female and male connector housings away from each other, the fitting detection member need only to be pulled toward the rear side of the housing, and when the operation is shifted from the detection member-moving operation to the housing-pulling confirmation operation, this can be carried out smoothly without the need for changing the positions of the fingers holding the detection fitting member.
(3) In the half-fitting prevention connector according to (2), preferably, the fitting detection member has an extension portion which projects beyond a rear end of the first connector housing when the fitting detection member is disposed in the initial position, and is disposed on the outer periphery of the first connector housing when the fitting detection member is disposed in the proper fitting detection position, and the position of the extension portion in the initial position of the fitting detection member is clearly different from the position of the extension portion in the proper fitting detection position of the fitting detection member.
In the half-fitting prevention connector of this construction, at the time of the assembling operation, the maintenance and inspection or others, whether the fitting detection member is disposed in the initial position or in the proper fitting detection position can be easily judged by confirming the position of the extension portion with the eyes.
(4) In the half-fitting prevention connector of (2) or (3), preferably, the retaining device includes first retaining mechanism for retaining the fitting detection member at a front portion of the first connector housing, and second retaining mechanism for retaining the fitting detection member at a rear portion of the first connector housing.
In the half-fitting prevention connector of this construction, the retaining of the fitting detection member in the proper fitting detection position can be effected at the front and rear portions of the fitting detection member. Therefore, the fitting detection member can be firmly retained in the proper fitting detection position.
(5) In the half-fitting prevention connector of (4), preferably, the first retaining mechanism comprises the positioning retaining portion, and a detection member-retaining portion defined by a front end edge of the flexible lock arm.
In the half-fitting prevention connector of this construction, there is no need to provide a retaining hole or the like exclusively used as the first retaining mechanism, and the first retaining mechanism can be provided by the positioning retaining portion and the detection member-retaining portion defined by the front end edge of the flexible lock arm, and the fitting detection member and the first connector housing can be simplified in construction and shape.
(6) In the half-fitting prevention connector of (4), preferably, the second retaining mechanism comprises a first projection, formed on a rear portion of a bottom portion of the first connector housing, and a second projection formed on a bottom portion of an inner peripheral surface of the fitting detection member, or the second retaining mechanism comprises an elastic retaining portion, formed on the rear portion of the bottom portion of the first connector housing, and a retaining rib extending between inner surfaces of opposite side walls of the fitting detection member at a lower portion thereof.
In the half-fitting prevention connector of this construction, the retaining of the fitting detection member in the proper fitting detection position can be effected at the upper portion of the front portion of the fitting detection member and the rear portion of the bottom portion thereof, and a relative slight movement or shaking between the fitting detection member and the first connector housing is suppressed, so that the fitting detection member can be more firmly retained.
(7) In the half-fitting prevention connector of (4), and the second retaining mechanism comprises retaining projections, formed respectively on opposite side surfaces of the flexible lock arm at a rear end thereof, and retaining piece portions formed respectively on opposed inner side surfaces of the fitting detection member at an upper end portion thereof, or the second retaining mechanism comprises a detection member-retaining arm, which is disposed adjacent to one side of the flexible lock arm, and has an engaging claw formed on an upper surface at a rear end thereof, and a retaining wall formed on a rear end of an upper wall of the fitting detection member.
In the half-fitting prevention connection of this construction, the first and second retaining mechanisms are disposed at the upper surface, and therefore the retained condition can be confirmed with the eyes, and the fitted condition of the two connector housings can be confirmed with the eyes. And besides, since the first and second retaining mechanisms are disposed at the upper surface, the operation for canceling the retained condition of the retaining mechanisms can be effected while confirming it with the eyes, and therefore the cancellation operability can be enhanced.
(8) In the half-fitting prevention connector of (2), preferably, the fitting detection member is designed such that an inserting force, required when retaining the fitting detection member in the proper fitting detection position by the retaining device, is smaller than an inserting force required for fitting the two connector housings together.
(9) In the half-fitting prevention connector of (8), preferably, a height of engagement between the first and second projections is smaller than a height of engagement between the lock portion and the engagement portion, or an angle of inclination of a tapering surface of the retaining piece portion is smaller than an angle of inclination of the engagement portion.
In the half-fitting prevention connector of this construction, the inserting force, required for the detection member-moving operation, is smaller than the inserting force required for the connector-fitting operation, and therefore the detection member-moving operation can be effected by a pushing force of inertia produced when fitting the two connector housings together. Therefore, the operation for fitting the two connector housings together and the operation for moving the detection member can be effected successively with one pushing operation.
(10) In the half-fitting prevention connector of (2), preferably, different colors are applied respectively to an outer surface of the fitting detection member and at least that portion of an outer surface of the first connector housing, exposed from the fitting detection member, so that the appearance of the first connector housing, obtained when the fitting detection member is disposed in the initial position, is clearly different in color from the appearance obtained when the fitting detection member is disposed in the proper fitting detection position.
In the half-fitting prevention connector of this construction, at the time of the assembling operation, the maintenance and inspection or others, whether or not the fitting detection member is disposed in the initial position or in the proper fitting detection position can be easily confirmed by viewing the color pattern formed by the first connector housing and the fitting detection member.